Namaikizakari- Naruse Shou
by BellaSeven
Summary: A close following of the events within the manga Namaikizakari from the perspective of Naruse Shou.
1. Chapter 1

The sky was blue. A soft breeze was blowing around me. I stood in the courtyard surrounded by chattering students and sighed. It was my first day of my first year of high school. So far, today has been like any other day up until now. Boring.  
I yawned as I approached the new student area. Just as I reached the table my phone buzzed. I pulled it out as a girl's voice said my name. Without taking my eyes off my phone I responded "Ya." It was a text from my mom wishing me a good first day of school. The voice said something else but I wasn't really listening.  
I responded as though I was when I heard a familiar screechy voice yell my name. "Naruse! I haven't seen you since middle school!" It was Ichii, a girl who followed me around in my prior school. As she reached me she pushed me. Her usual greeting but I wasn't prepared this time. I stuck my arm out automatically for balance. My hand landed on a full breast. I finally noticed the girl talking to me. Serious brown eyes stared back at me calmly as her breast filled my hand.  
The girl was small, almost delicate looking but something about her demeanor made her seem anything but frail. Everyone around us stared in shocked silence. Even I was at a loss for words for a few seconds. I simply said the first thing to come to mind. "Pretty big." She stepped back and I dropped my hand. I forgot my hand was even there.

"Put this pin on." she said as though nothing out of the ordinary happened. I took the pin and moved out of the line. I looked back at her. She continued to hand out pins professionally and totally unbothered. Ichii followed me to the main building talking nonstop but I was barely listening. I was still thinking about the girl with the serious eyes.  
I decided I wanted to find out more about her. She was interesting and it was so rare for me to be interested in anything let alone a girl. Most girls would kyaa at something like what happened between us. Or at least be embarrassed. Her reaction intrigued me...amongst other things.  
It was easy to find out her name. Machida Yuki. She was a 2nd year and was the manager of the basketball club. I played basketball in middle school. I hadn't really thought about joining the high school basketball club. Now that I knew she would be there it seemed it would be at the very least more interesting. I signed up that day.  
After a few days of practice I realized Machida Yuki was always like she was the day I met her. Serious. Focused. No nonsense. She was always the first one at practice and the last one to leave. The team members never had to want for anything because Manager Machida always took care of everything. Nothing escaped her notice. If something went wrong she always knew exactly what to do. And she did it all without her facial expression changing one bit. She was almost terrifying in her efficiency. Almost. Everybody in the club was a little afraid of her but she didn't scare me at all.  
There were times when I'd catch a glimpse of what was going on underneath her calm exterior. The more I watched her the more she fascinated me. I never met anyone remotely like her. I wanted to get to know her more, something I never had the desire to do with anyone. I wanted to see if she could ever make other faces besides the wall of steel she usually wore. The only way I could do it, I found so far, was to play with her.  
"Yuki-senpai, you always have such a firm face. The only thing that should be firm are your breasts." I teased. I remembered fondly the feel of her firm breast in my hand and smiled to myself. "Shut up, Naruse." she replied in her no nonsense voice. Once again unfazed by my playful banter. "Stop loitering around and get back in formation."  
"Ya." I said as I walked back over to my practice group.

"Hey Naruse, is it true you felt Manager Machida's boobs?" one of my teammates asked.

"Ya." I replied. Some of them starting asking questions.

"What are they like?" someone asked.

"They're like melons but since they are firm I'll give them 56 points." I said. The grouped oohed and ahhed. I was pretty sure Yuki-senpai could hear our conversation and I smiled to myself.  
"Its slippery over here." one of the 3rd year players called out. I watched as Yuki-sempai seemingly materialized out of nowhere, mop in hand. Within seconds the floor was dry. "Anywhere else needs mopping?" she asked, ever efficient. "N-no." he stammered out. Clearly he was still in awe at the speed at which she took care of the problem.  
Kido, the team captain, came up to speak to Yuki-senpai but they were too far for me to hear them. Then something extraordinary happened. Yuki-senpai's face softened and a slight blush colored her cheeks. I stood there, frozen. It felt like the world stood still. It was the first time I'd seen such an expression. So she _could_ make different faces. He patted her head and her cheeks reddened even more. Kido walked away but her face stayed the same. Amazing.  
"I never seen you wear a wristband before, Captain Kido." someone called out. He looked at it and smiled.

"Oh this? My girlfriend gave it to me." Everybody made shocked noises. Whatever, who cares? I looked back at Yuki-senpai. She looked stricken. Ah, so she liked him. That explains the uncharacteristic blush. Interesting. I watched as she mopped her way to the storeroom and disappeared inside, shutting the door. She was obviously hiding. So the unfathomable Yuki had a weakness. I filed that away in my mental file dedicated to her.  
After practice ended, everyone packed up and left but I didn't see Yuki-senpai leave. Abe wanted to grab a bite to eat. I agreed to go and started to walk to the storeroom to grab my wallet when I had an idea. Instead, I walked outside with Abe then stopped and told him I left my wallet.

"Aw man. Hurry up. Im hungry and its cold." he whined.

"One minute." I told him and headed to the storeroom. Unsurprisingly, Yuki-senpai was still there. She sat on the floor, open magazines scattered on the floor in front of her. Her shoulders were shaking. I took a loud slurp from my drink to alert her of my presence since it didn't seem like she noticed my approach. Her shoulders tensed. I bent in front of her. Her eyes were bright, the unshed tears in her eyes at that moment before they fell.

"Yuki-senpai, why're you crying?" I asked. As if by magic, the tears disappeared, as though through sheer will she sucked them back in. If anybody could do that, it was Yuki-senpai.  
She looked back at me, the iron face I was use to back on. "I'm not crying." she replied seriously.  
"What move did you just use? It was super effective. Optical illusion, maybe?" I asked wonderingly. "Well anyway, Senpai, what are you doing here? It's already so late." She fidgeted nervously. If you watch her closely and wait for the right moment, you could easily see past her constant wall of defense and see what she was really feeling. She looked down at the open magazines spread out in front of her.

"I was looking at articles about the other team. What about you? Why are you still here?" she asked while not looking at my face. I turned away from her and headed towards the lockers.

"I was going out to eat with Abe and forgot my wallet." I squated down to reach my locker on the bottom row. Another idea hit me.

"By the way, I just saw the captain and his girlfriend kissing outside the club room." She turned her head towards the door and groaned miserably.

"Just kidding." I said as I found my wallet right where I left it. She turned her face back towards me, the shock turning into surprise.

"Eh?" she murmured.

"Wow, so even Yuki-senpai has things she cries or gets worked up about...but liking the captain in that kind of way...it's kinda weird." I teased hiding the small spurt of jealousy I felt now that my suspicions were confirmed.

"No, it's not." she replied shakily. I looked at her face.

"How funny." I said nonchalantly to see what face she'd make. I was rewarded with yet another expression I was pretty sure no one else had ever seen as the surprise on her face changed into quiet horror.  
I stood up and headed towards the exit. "Bye. See you tomorrow." I called back to her. Her silence followed me out the door. As I headed back to Abe I wondered at the feeling I had at the thought of her liking Kido. I remembered the blushing face she showed when he spoke to her and felt that jealousy again. I brushed the thought aside as I rejoined Abe who looked like a frozen popsicle. "Finally. Let's goooo. I can't feel my fingers or toes." he got out between chattering teeth. "Maybe that'll improve your game." I joked. "Hey, you wanna fight punk?!" he threatened. I smiled while looking back at the light coming through the window of the storeroom.

They next day at morning practice, I watched her quietly as she observed everyone more closely than usual. Probably to see if I had told anyone. She had her notebook with data written on the front furiously writing notes as usual. The captain showed up behind her. "Whoa!" he said over her shoulder. She jumped in surprise at the sound of his voice. This time, I wasn't surprised as that jealous feeling returned. He was way too close to her.

"The manager has to do all that? That is amazing." he said. His head practically on her shoulder. She blushed profusely as he continued to study her notes. I didn't like the way she still blushed for him. I felt my hand clench. What the hell? Why was I so mad? It wasn't like I was targeting her or anything. I've actually never targeted a girl nor had the inkling to do so. But I also never had a girl inspired these types of emotions in me either. I continued to watch them quietly as I dribbled the ball unconsciously.  
"When did you make this?" he asked.

"Earlier this year." she replied. Her voice was the always steady and direct tone she always used but as I watched her face go from pleased to pained it was obvious she felt anything but steady. It was time for me to break up this conversation. I walked over to them.

"Not only that Captain Kido but last night she..." She suddenly grabbed me by the arm and yanked me outside. I dropped the ball I was dribbling in surprise. Once outside, she grabbed a fistful of my shirt and pushed me against the wall. "Ouch." I said as the hard bricks dug into my back. The sudden turn in events shocked the breath out of me. She was so close I felt the heat coming off her skin. She gazed directly into my eyes sternly. I realized her eyes were the brown like milk chocolate. As I stared into them my heart thumped loudly in my chest. Was it the shock of the speed that she yanked me out here? Or was it how close she was standing to me?  
"You. What the hell were you going to say?" she asked darkly.  
"I was going to say 'Yuki-senpai stayed behind last night collecting data from other teams'." I was so glad my voice sounded normal and didn't reflect how I felt at the moment.  
"Look. I'm asking you nicely. Could you mind your own business and shut it?" she replied tersely. I was starting to get my bearings back to a level where I could at least tease her a bit.

"Ah, you mean that time you got dumped and cried about it?" I said lightly. She gripped my shirt tighter pulling me closer to her. I felt my heart thump harder in my chest as she gazed deeper into my eyes.I needed to make her back off a little, I thought, as I felt my body grew hot.

"Don't talk about it. Don't you dare say anything about it." She was so close. I started to feel lightheaded. I knew what to do.

"If you want me to keep it a secret I can, but... Let me see your boobs." As expected, she let go of my shirt and took a step away from me.  
"Don't get cocky." she replied irritably. Her stone face back in place. She began to walk away from me. I slid down the wall weakly. I never had that reaction to a girl before. Ever. It both scared and excited me. I watched her walk away. The urge to see her face again overtook me.  
"How boring. And yesterday you were so upset too..." She turned back towards me.

"Is badgering your senpai's that much fun for you?" she asked scornfully. Her face showing annoyance. Somehow it was super cute. My heart squeezed. I immediately looked away from her. "Whatever." I said while I pulled myself together. I had no immunity against her when she showed me her cute side. I made the unfortunate decision to tell her the truth. "Maybe I want to see all the faces you make just because it's interesting." I replied. I waited for her to say something. She said nothing but blew out a tired sigh. A few seconds later I heard the sound of her steps moving back to the gym.

She probably thought I was playing with her. I was and I wasn't. I didn't know what made me tease her so much but the more I did the more I learned about her. And the more I learned the more I wanted to know.

Once I was sure my body cooled back down enough to where I could function properly, I got up and went back into the gym. As I walked in I immediately spotted her issuing drill orders to the team completely unshaken by what just happened. It kind of irked me that I was totally shook up by it while she remained unfazed. I still didn't know what made her stand out so much to me. But what I did know was what I felt for Yuki-senpai was more than just an amused interest. If my reaction to her was anything to go by, much more.

Later at lunch the guys and I were on the low roof of the cafeteria overlooking the quad. They were passing around a nude magazine one of them gleaned from their older brother. I wasn't really interested. Once you've seen one nude magazine, you've seen them all. I turned around and noticed Kido with his girlfriend being all lovey dovey. She looked as boring as any other girl in the school. Too much makeup. Too much frilly stuff. I thought of the stern tidiness that Yuki-senpai exuded effortlessly. Is that my type? I thought to myself. I never thought about "my type" before. I wondered idly where Yuki-senpai was and what she was doing. As if on cue, I saw her walking across the quad to the cafeteria. Her steps determined and sure. She noticed Kido almost immediately and kind of stumbled a bit. I watched as a pained look swept over her face. I felt my heart squeeze again. She created so many new emotions in me already and now I felt a new one. Sympathy. I took the magazine, pretending to leaf through it and waited for her to reach me then I skillfully dropped the magazine on her head to divert her attention to me. Abe cried out in dismay behind me. "You did that on purpose, you idiot." he moaned. She picked up the magazine as if it was any other magazine and looked up at me. The pained expression was gone.  
"What are you doing up there? It's dangerous. Climb down immediately." she said as she handed me back the magazine. Her cool, trim indifference was impressive and slightly aggravating at the same time. I liked it when she directed her rare outbursts of emotion towards me. I ignored her maternal scolding.  
"Do we have practice today?" I asked her. I knew we didn't but I wanted to keep her talking to me for a little while longer.  
"No. But the coach is coming tomorrow so you'd better not be late." she replied briskly as she continued to the cafeteria. I watched her as she walked away, her steps steady and focused once again. She never looked back at Kido and his girlfriend.

Later that day, even though we didn't have any club activities I went to the gym. No one was there. I went to the storeroom and as expected, I found Yuki-senpai, once again bent over on the floor. This time she was bent over a banner, paintbrush in hand. The banner had the word 'focus' painted beautifully in large calligraphy. Was there anything she didn't do perfectly?  
"Why do you like Captain Kido?" I asked in place of a greeting. She looked at me. Steel face firmly in place.  
"Didn't I tell you to rest today? Why are you here?" she asked instead of answering.

"That's my line." I said as I walked towards her to see her banner more closely.  
"Beautiful writing. Scary message." I said after my inspection. She scowled.

"I'm making a cheering banner even if it is a small thing since the club doesn't have an official cheering group." she said. "I am doing what I can do until the competition the day after tomorrow."

I squatted down so that I was somewhat more eye level. She was half my size so even bending down I towered over her. I looked at her for a moment. She looked back, unflinchingly.  
"Do you really think we can win the preliminaries?" I asked. She narrowed her eyes at me. She pursed her lips briefly as she studied me.  
"What are you trying to say?" she asked, the beginnings of her temper faintly lacing her question.

"Actually, you just don't want the captain to graduate, right?" I baited her. She turned bright red as she shouted "So what if I do?" I watched her as her eyes widened in surprised then lowered in regret. I studied her down casted face.  
"Your face when you saw Kido and his girlfriend was almost hard to bear at lunchtime today. So full of pain." I said. Her eyes flew back up to my face in surprise. She really didn't realize how transparent she was. Suddenly, I felt annoyed again. "If you like the captain so much why don't you just confess to him?" I asked. That would be better than watching her get depressed every time Kido appeared. That cute scowl returned and I forgot what I was thinking for a moment.  
"That is obviously impossible." she answered, returning her attention to her banner.  
"Why?" I asked to get her attention back. "Because he has a girlfriend?"  
She put her brush down and turned back to me. "Not everyone is like you, Naruse. We all can't just say whatever is on our mind like a child." Her referring to me as a child annoyed me.  
"Why?" I asked again to annoy her back.

"When one hides one's true feelings there is no choice but to give up on so many things. There are a lot of people like that. You don't know anything. Don't talk on your own here." she replied sharply. She went back to her banner effectually ending the conversation.  
After a short silence I asked "Why are you mad?"  
"I'm not mad!" she yelled back looking very much the opposite of not mad. I watched her work for a little while longer then I got up and quietly slipped out the door. I didn't want to make her any madder. I'll give her break for today, I thought. There's always tomorrow.

I thought about what she said about hiding one's feelings and giving things up as I headed home. I never considered doing either. I didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. I did, however, get a deeper look into what made Yuki-senpai the steel pillar of resolve that she was. Everyday she got more interesting. I looked forward to seeing what else she would reveal to me tomorrow.

Before practice the next day, the coach, a doddering old man, finally made an appearance. "Seems like the game is tomorrow. Well, in reality you guys weren't even suppose to be playing so why don't you all just go out there and have fun? Right Kinou-kun?" the coach said while turning to Kido.  
"It's Kido and we'll do what we can." he replied. The coach then turned towards me.  
"Plus we have a talented new freshman. You're Yanase, right? You're so big. How tall are you? We'll be counting on you."

"Uh huh." I replied.  
Abe tapped me on the back. "You gotta tell him 'I'm Naruse'." he scolded. Just then a couple of girls came to the gym door and squealed my name. I turned towards them.  
"The game is tomorrow, right? We'll be cheering for you!" they said.  
"Ya." I replied. I didn't care. I turned to see Yuki-senpai looking at me. She quickly turned away when our eyes met. I watched her as she walked away to tend to something. She hadn't really spoken to me but about club stuff since our talk in the storeroom the day before. She was probably still mad at me.  
After practice, as everybody packed up and left, I noticed Kido talking to Yuki-senpai in the hallway.  
"The game is tomorrow at 10 so we'll leave at 7." he told her.  
"Got it." she replied. I watched her watch him walk toward the exit. "Um...Senpai...for tomorrow good..." she was cut off by Kido's girlfriend suddenly making an appearance. Yuki-senpai's voice trailed off. She watched them intently for a moment. I walked over to her and bent close to her ear and whispered "Caught you staring." She gasped in surprise.  
"Dont stand behind someone like that! Its creepy." she cried out.  
"You're the one being creepy. And you're by my locker." I replied as I headed towards it.  
"So Yuki-senpai, do you ever smile?" I asked as I got my shoes out of my locker.

"Huh?" she asked blankly.

"I've seen you cry and I've seen you get angry but I've never seen you smile." I replied. I turned back to look at her.  
"That...I'll smile if something good happens, you know." she bit out. I saw Abe by the doorway. I walked towards him

"I'm so hungry." I said aloud.  
"What are we getting?" he called out. I didn't look back at Yuki-senpai and left out with Abe. I knew I was being rude. I wanted her to think about me and not him even if it was just thoughts of annoyance. I didn't look back at her but I could feel her eyes burning a hole in my back. She was probably thinking she'd never smile just because I asked her about it. I smiled to myself as Abe talked about different restaurants we could go to. We'll see how long it takes to see her smile for the first time.

The next day was the tournament against Meisei. The first half was pretty bad. Meisei was a pretty good team, and this being our first real game together we had not yet found our natural rhythm. I was playing okay. I wasn't really throwing myself into it though. It was just a game. Either we'd win or we'd lose. I glanced at Yuki-senpai. She looked tense. And disappointed. We huddled up, most of the team was dripping sweat and panting. "We're down 20 points." one of the 2nd years said.  
"No, no you're doing fine." the coach replied calmly.  
"There is twenty minutes left. Play hard." Yuki-senpai said sternly.  
"Only twenty minutes? Damn it!" someone called out.  
Abe looked over at me. "Say something, Naruse. Are you even trying?" he asked me.  
"A bit." I answered nonchalantly.  
"Don't just try a bit! Go all the way man!" he yelled back.  
I looked at Yuki-senpai again. She was studying her databook, her steel mask on as usual but this time, I could see how anxious she was. Would she smile if we won this game? It was worth it to try and find out.  
The whistle blew signaling the end of halftime. We all formed up on the court.

"Match start!" the referee called. This time I actually played like I care. I never really expended a lot of energy in the games I played. I used little effort in basketball and video games. I did the same with school and relationships. I was use to never having to work hard for anything because I could do everything effortlessly. I was 8th in my class last semester. I was the best basketball player in my middle school. Girls were in such abundance that it was annoying. Everything just came to me. I realized then when you get everything you don't want anything. I never desired anything so much that I'd do anything to get it until today. I wanted to win this game just to see the look on Yuki-senpai's face.  
I played harder than I ever played. My sudden outburst of renewed energy seemed to energize my teammates as well. We were closing the gap steadily. I was passed the ball and was blocked by an opponent. I sidestepped him but he stepped on my foot in the process. Pain shot up my leg and I collapsed. My teammates surrounded me making sounds of concern.  
"Hey Naruse, are you ok?" someone asked. I ignored the pain and started to get up.  
"It's nothing." I said keeping the pain out of my voice.  
"It's obviously not nothing." they replied. I was about to tell them to fuck off when I heard Yuki-senpai's voice cut through the noise of the gym.  
"Naruse. You just twisted your ankle, right? Hit the bench. I'll sub someone else in..."  
"I didn't twist anything. No need to switch." I cut her off. I started back towards the middle of the court.  
"Naruse, if you are injured you should..." Kido started.  
"Shut up." I replied. Everybody was so noisy. We had a game to win and it wasn't going to happen if I wasn't playing.

"What? Shut up? You say that to my face!" he shouted after me.  
"If I get subbed out aren't we going to lose?" I replied. "If we lose aren't you going to retire?" I continued towards the court. "If it's like that then you'll always have that expression on your face." I knew Kido would wonder what that last statement meant. It wasn't meant for him but for senpai who was watching me silently. The rest of my teammates finally let my injury go. My ankle was hurting but I could deal. I could still play. Once the game resumed we played even harder. Despite my throbbing ankle, I was playing in top form. But it was too late. We managed to close the gap to ten points but there was only ten seconds left. It was nearly impossible. But I didn't want to give up. It wasn't completely impossible. At five seconds left, I stole the ball, landing on my foot resulted in another surge of pain moving up my leg. I grit my teeth and tried not to think about it. Three opponents were heading my way. I weighed my options on what to do. Pass it? Shoot it? Let the clock run out? All of sudden I heard out of nowhere.  
"Naruse, if you let that ball get stolen I will spank you!" Yuki-senpai yelled. The gym's noise level fell by 10 decibels. Me, the rest of the team and probably everyone in the gym looked at Yuki-senpai in shock. "Regardless of whether we win or lose, do not let go of that ball!" she yelled. Her face was lit with a fire only a warrior in the middle of battle would have. For a fraction of a second I marveled at this new face I witnessed. I mentally added it to my collection before focusing on the matter at hand. If Yuki-senpai didn't want me to lose the ball then there was only one option. I charged towards the goal and stopped short of the three point line. I shot with one second left on the play clock. I watched as the ball sunk in. I scored but the result was the same. We lost by seven points, 72-65.  
After my adrenaline slowed I remembered the pain in my ankle. I crouched down to cradle it in my hands. While doing that, I remembered senpai's face and her words. I started to laugh. I laughed harder than I ever remembered laughing. She was so cute. So ferocious. So amazing. It was clear to me then. I had fallen for Yuki-senpai. For the first time in my life, there was someone who inspired this type of emotion in me. I thought of how I was going to get Yuki-senpai to even think about me that way. I thought of the ever disciplined, ever serious senpai and started to laugh even harder. Impossible.

"Naruse. What's wrong? Is your ankle hurting?" Kido asked concerned.

I kept laughing uncontrollably. I didn't know if it was because I was nearly delirious from the pain or because of the hilariousness of the fact that I fell in love with Machida Yuki of all people.

"Hey, you're creeping me out. Are you sure you're ok?" he asked. No doubt he thought I was cracking up. I wasn't all that sure I wasn't. I covered my face with my hands.

"No." I replied. "I'm in trouble."  
After a few minutes, I finally got up and limped to the locker room. Yuki-senpai was waiting for me.

"Are you an idiot?" she asked darkly. I sat on the floor and pulled my sock down revealing my ankle. It was swollen twice its size and all kinds of shades of black, blue and purple. I looked up at her.  
"It hurts." I said.  
She sighed exasperatedly. "Of course it does, look at it." She began to bandage it up expertly. I watched her hands as she worked. So small and delicate yet so steady and capable. She had such pretty hands. I belatedly realized we were alone in the locker room.  
"Where is everybody?" I asked.  
"In a meeting." she answered while finishing up the bandage. "Then we're all going to the hospital."  
"What? Why?" I asked.  
"For you, of course. Don't pull anything crazy like that again." she said in her stern, teachers voice.  
"But senpai, didn't you say you were going to spank me?" I teased. I couldn't resist bringing that up. She gave me a withering glance.  
"Enough. Shut up and forget that." she said. Her voice scary. She finished up my ankle and got up, moving towards the exit.  
"But I heard a good spanking could be good for me." I said suggestively. Her shoulders tensed with suppressed anger. I smiled to myself. She was so easy.

"Shut up already. Go to the hospital." she replied tightly. She really was adorable, my first love. I was going to make her mine but first I had to get her attention. "Ah, Senpai." I said. She whirled towards me, her temper now fully activated.  
"What?" she cried exasperatedly. I quickly bent down and kissed her gently on the lips. My first kiss. She recoiled in shock. I looked into her brown eyes, wide with surprise.

"I've fallen for you." I told her sincerely. My first confession. She silently stared at me for a few moments. I waited for her response prepared for nearly anything.

"What?" she said blankly. She shook her head. "Before that, apologize for what you just did to me." she said. Her face was blank, even more neutral than her face of steel. So she wasn't going to answer me. I wasn't surprised. I didn't think it'll work on the first try. It was Senpai, after all. I shrugged.  
"It's not like I used tongue or anything." I said lightly. I didn't want her to see I was a bit disappointed in her non response.  
"As if I would've let you. There's a limit to how far pranks can go."  
"Pranks?" I repeated darkly. She thought this was a prank? How direct do I have to be? She could be so dense sometimes. I was about to correct her when a group of girls showed up at the locker room door squealing about my ankle and how I needed to go to the hospital. I looked back at Yuki-senpai. She was wiping her mouth with her jacket sleeve. What the hell? I wished the girls would go away so I could spell it out for her but I realized it was pointless. It was going to take a lot more than a kiss and a confession to convince Senpai that I meant what I said.

I turned around and left out the door walking past the girls leaving Senpai alone in the locker room glaring after me. They followed me talking about how cool I was in the game. I wasn't really listening. I had a lot of work to do with Yuki-senpai, I realized. If she was going to be mine, I needed a plan. I revised my thoughts. She was already mine she just didn't know it yet. I smiled to myself. I seemed to be doing that a lot since I met her. Getting Yuki-senpai to fall for me, I thought. An impossible goal. I was more than willing to accept that challenge.

End of Ch 1.


	2. Chapter 2

_*Hello there. So it was brought to my attention that I was uploading stories incorrectly. Rather than adding chapters I was uploading each chapter like it was its own story. Oops. Still learning so please forgive me. So in order to have everything flow as its suppose to I'm reuploading chapter 2 in its correct place as well as uploading ch. 3 which I just (finally) finished. Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy! -Bella*_

I laid in bed that night thinking about Yuki-senpai and her not taking my confession seriously. It was understandable when I really thought about it. All I've done up until this point was annoy and irritate her. What reason did I give her to think I actually liked her and not just enjoyed teasing her?

I tried to set these thoughts to the side so I could get some sleep but all I did was toss and turn. My alarm started to ring right when I finally started drifting off. I looked at my alarm clock in disbelief. It was already six am. I barely slept at all. I shut my alarm off with a little more force than necessary then dragged myself out of bed and started getting ready for school.

I went downstairs to the kitchen. My mom was already there cooking breakfast which wasn't surprising. My sister was there as well, which was a surprise.

"Good morning, Shou." my mom said without turning around. "How is your ankle?"

"Hiya Shou." my sister said with a mouth full of toast.

"Why are you here?" I said in place of a greeting. I kissed my moms soft cheek and sat at the table.

"How rude of ya. You don't get to see me often and this is how ya treat me?" she said. "I was hungry, ya know."

I snatched her last piece of toast off her plate and ate it. She glared at me. I glared back.

"What happened to your ankle?" she asked.

"Nothing." I replied.

My mom sat a plate of food in front of me. "He sprung his ankle last night at his game." she said.

"Shou sprung his ankle? Wow, ya must've been giving it your all, huh?" she said as she stole a piece of toast off my plate.

"It's fine." I said as I stared at my plate. Them talking about my ankle reminded me of my confession and my rejection. I pushed my plate away.

"Sorry, mom. I'm not very hungry today."

My mom and sister stared at me in shock.

"You're not hungry?" my mom asked in concern.

"Are you alright?" my sister asked.

"I'm fine." I said again. I got up and grabbed my bag. "I'm going." I said before they could ask me more questions. I left them staring after me as I walked out the door.

By the time I arrived at school, I was more than exhausted and grumpy. I headed to homeroom looking for Yuki-senpai in the hallway on the way there. She wasn't anywhere to be seen. That just made me grumpier. It was probably best I not see her. I didn't know what I was going to say to her yet.

I walked into homeroom and sat in my seat behind Abe while trying to come up with something to say to her when I saw her. Abe was asleep and mumbling to himself. He always talked in his sleep, the weirdo. I stared out the window, not really seeing anything while I mindlessly twirled a pencil in my hand. Suddenly I heard Abe mutter "Oh, Machida-senpai. Yes, please…". My pencil fell from my fingers. There was only one Machida-senpai. The bastard was dreaming about my Yuki. A dirty dream at that.

"Oi Sensei!" I called out. "Abe is dreaming about something weird."

"What? Smack him awake."

I smiled grimly. With pleasure. I reached out and hit Abe hard on the back of his head. Abe jumped up in such a comical way I couldn't help but laugh.

"What the…" he mumbled sleepily. He turned to me. I looked back at him calmly.

"Why'd you hit me?" he grumbled.

"Sensei told me to." I replied simply.

He mumbled something about kicking my ass later while rubbing the back of his head. I laughed again. Then I thought about Yuki-senpai telling me my confession was a prank and the laughter died in my throat. I pushed back the feeling of rejection that started to creep up on me. She never actually said no, I thought to myself. I'll just have to work on her some more, is all.

I spent the remainder of homeroom thinking of ways to convince her when the bell rung. I got up and left to go to my next class. I barely got out the door when Ichii and one of her friends latched on to me and started chattering away about something. I wasn't listening. I couldn't stop thinking about senpai.

Once again it was as if I conjured her up. I spotted her walking down the hall in her usual brisk manner. Judging by her face she was thinking hard about something. She was thinking so hard that she wasn't paying any attention to her surroundings which was rare for her. It would be conceited of me to believe she was thinking about me. Yea right and pigs fly.

She didn't even realize I was there and she was less than five feet away from me. If I was Kido she would've noticed me, I thought darkly. He was probably the reason she was so lost in thought. I felt that spark of jealousy again. Once again, I was surprised I felt that way. That line of thinking and feeling jealous was unlike me. I said nothing as I watched her walk right into Ichii who was also unaware of anything around her as usual.

Yuki looked up in surprise. "Sorry, I didn't mean to…" she started to say. Her voice drifted off when she finally noticed me. She didn't look happy to see me. The irritation I felt before returned full force. I ignored it and pretended I just noticed her too.

"Oh, Yuki-senpai. You look grim this morning."

She opened her mouth to say something when Ichii's friend said "Yuki-senpai?" with recognition in her voice.

"Ah it's her! She flipped out at the game!" Ichii blurted out.

"The spank you girl!" her friend replied.

I watched Yuki-senpai's face close down. I silently wished Ichii and all her friends went to boarding school in another country. Now she really won't speak to me. Yuki-senpai turned around and walked away without saying another word.

I knew she didn't want to remember that scene but didn't she know her words pushed me to play harder? Would she believe me if I told her? I watched her retreating back, stiff with indignation and embarrassment. Probably not. Ichii pulled my arm.

"Are you even listening, Naruse?" she asked. I didn't realize she was even talking to me.

"Ya." I lied.

She continued talking and I immediately tuned her out again as I went to my next class. She left me to go to her own. I was grateful for the quiet. I needed to think. I tried to think of new plans of attack but all I could see was her face after I kissed her. Completely unmoved. Nothing I came up with could overcome the fear I had of seeing that face again. By the time I finished with morning classes and headed to the gym for mid-day practice, I was close to just giving up. There was no way Yuki-senpai would fall for me.

I pushed that thought away. She just needs more effort. I shouldn't have expected anything less from her, really. I've never really put a lot of effort into anything. I didn't realize how frustrating it was for something to not go your way.

While I thought about that another thought came to me. Would she even still be there? Kido retired so would she have any reason to stay? I felt a knot of dread but immediately squashed it. If she quits, I'll quit and stalk her in the halls.

As soon as I entered the gym I scanned the room, searching for her. The whole team was huddled up to the side. I was relieved to see senpai was there in front of the team with some new guy. The new guy was in the middle of introducing himself as the new captain. I didn't catch his name. I then noticed a bunch of other new faces amongst the familiar ones. I forgot new players would be arriving after the third years retired.

I joined the team, staying in the back. Yuki-senpai didn't notice me, yet again. Was I invisible to her? I thought about it and realized that not only had senpai never approach me first but she also never started a conversation with me. The only times she ever spoke to me first was either for club business or barking orders at me during drills. Anoyance swept through me at that thought. Once again, I ignored that feeling and studied her face. Her face was expressionless as usual but I could still tell something was bothering her. The new captain finished his speech then asked senpai if she had anything to add.

"Nothing really. It's just as you said. Do your best." she said briskly, her face as expressionless as ever. I heard some of the newcomers mutter how scary she was and some whispers about her spanking unruly players. I scowled. I didn't like them looking at her let alone whispering about her with awe.

The captain dismissed everyone and told them to get in formation. Since I injured myself during the last game I was excused from practice for a few days but I had to be the ballboy. My ankle was fine but I didn't mind having a break from drills. Plus being excused from drills gave me time to work on Yuki-senpai.

While the team went through their workout I went in search of her to do just that. She managed to disappear within seconds of the captains dismissal so it took me a while to find her. She was in the last place I looked, the laundry area. She already had a load of clothes in and was going over notes in her always present notebook.

I leaned down on the washing machine and watched her. I knew she noticed my presence but she still ignored me.

"Senpai, do you still like the captain?" I said without thinking. I didn't mean to ask that first but since it was now out there I waited for her reply.

"Hurry up and go back to practice, Naruse. Until your ankle heals you're the ball boy, aren't you?" she asked instead of answering me.

I was still irritated from her ignoring me all day. "Don't wanna. I'm bored." I said, more sullenly than I intended.

"What are you in kindergarten?" she mumbled.

I ignored her comment and change the subject. "Anyway, are you figuring out a new practice plan while doing laundry? You sure do a lot. Captain Kido's not even here anymore."

"The third years are gone so what of it?" she replied. "This is my work after all. The fact that the basketball team is important to me hasn't changed."

I watched her as she pressed her pen thoughtfully against her lips while continuing to study her notebook her brow wrinkled in concentration. A strand of her brown hair caught in the wind, blowing across her cheek. She was just so cute and once again she wasn't paying any attention to me. I was tired of that. I sat up, leaned towards her and kissed her on the cheek. I was rewarded with a whack across my head.

Her other hand flew to her cheek and cradled it as though I hit her instead of kissed her. She glared at me accusingly.

"Look, Naruse. You need to cut this out right now. I swear I will make drills hell for you!" she shouted angrily.

"That's because you haven't been thinking about me. At all. I even said I'd fallen for you." I said, a little angry myself. Being ignored by the person you'd been thinking about for the last twenty four hours could do that.

"Listen, you. If you were really serious you wouldn't be able to touch me so easily. If you really liked me, then your heart would race relentlessly while aching at the same time. But you're...so indifferent!" she returned. "And I don't recall being liked by you or being buddies with you. You're just messing with me, aren't you?"

Yuki-senpai never spoke to me in such a way. Her face was flushed and she was breathing hard. I've only seen her this passionate once before. Looking back, her face that day at the game might have been what made me fall for her. But it wasn't me that brought that flush to her face. It was her feelings for Kido. Did she really like him that much? The jealousy returned again but I couldn't push it away this time.

"What you're saying is your heart ached when you were around the captain?" I asked even though I didn't want the answer. I already knew the answer.

"So what?" she nearly shouted at me. I watched her face go from indignant to embarrassment. She didn't want to reveal all that to me even though I already knew. Why did I have to fall for someone who was in love with someone else? You make plans and God laughs my mom would say. I was so fed up with it all that I just said what I had been feeling all day.

"How annoying."

I wanted to say more but I couldn't take any more of her rejection. I needed to regroup. I turned around and walked back to the gym. She didn't say anything but I could feel her eyes burn an angry hole into my back as I walked away.

Later, just as practice was about to end, Kido and the rest of the retired third years showed up.

"Wassup! Are you guys practicing seriously? We came to play you guys!" Kido called out with a stupid grin on his face.

The second years gathered around them as they talked noisily about entrance exams and stuff. They acted like they hadn't seen the third years just last night. So annoying. I looked around for senpai. She stood to the side quietly watching them, her face so expressionless that even I couldn't tell what she was thinking. She was thinking about him, I was sure of it. I watched, annoyed, as Kido walked over to her.

"Manager, sorry for barging in like this." he apologized even though he didn't look sorry.

"It's okay. Everyone is fine with it." She replied. I studied her face intently for any change of expression. I couldn't find the slightest change. I should have felt relief. Instead, all I felt was worry. How would I ever get her to notice me when Kido was still around to pop up whenever he wanted?

One of the third years approached me and asked me about my foot.

"Why are you here?" I asked instead of answering.

He laughed with a slight edge in his voice. "And you're still an obnoxious brat, aren't ya? Are you telling me to go home, jerk face?"

I ignored him and headed towards senpai and Kido who was once again standing too close to her.

"3 on 3? You guys are playing now? Practice was just about to end." she was saying.

"Yea, just this once. 3rd years against 2nd years." he said to her.

Why was he standing so close to her? I moved closer to them as I heard Abe say they would get smashed if they played them.

"You guys are just bored from studying. You just want to feel better by schooling us." one of the 2nd years called out. The third years laughed while agreeing with him.

"So which three from the second years…" Yuki started to say.

"I'm in. I'm game." I said, cutting her off while inserting myself between her and Kido.

"That's rare. Naruse actually wants to play." someone commented.

"Dude, he's a first year. Plus his foot's still messed up." someone else chimed in.

"Nah, it's fine." I said loud enough for them to hear. Then I leaned down towards Yuki-senpai and whispered in her ear. "So, if we win, we'll go on a date sometime."

Her body jolted and her face paled before flushing deep red. It wasn't a blush of love. Probably a blush of fury but I'd take whatever I could get. I walked away leaving her stuttering what probably was a cutting reply. I headed over to where the other second years were lined up before the third years. I thought briefly about how this was so unlike me. Normally I wouldn't care about a pick up game but I wasn't just playing to win the date with senpai. I was also playing to show her Kido had nothing on me.

The whistle blew signaling the start of the game. It only took 15 minutes for us to win 25-29. My team cheered victoriously while the third years grumbled about my ankle being fine.

"I told you it was fine. Ya deaf?" I said. It was true but my ankle was throbbing a bit. I turned to look at Yuki-senpai. She clearly wasn't too happy about our win. That was too bad but she was going on the date even if she didn't actually agree to the terms of the bet. I started to head towards her to settle on an actual day for our date when Kido's girlfriend showed up.

"Excuse me, is the 3 something 3 already over?" she asked senpai, her voice like tinkling bells. As she stood there next to senpai, I tried to see what Kido saw in her. She really was too frilly. She wore too much make-up. She looked liked every other girl in school. I couldn't understand why Kido would prefer her over senpai but I was glad he did.

"Rina!" Did you just arrive? It's great that you didn't see me lose." Kido said as he walked up next to her.

"You lost?" she said with disbelief.

And he'll lose every time if he ever dares to play me again in front of senpai, I thought to myself darkly. Kido introduced Rina to senpai. I watched as Yuki-senpai made small talk with the girl who won her crush's heart. It looked like her face was about to crack from the effort to remain expressionless. It seemed no one could tell senpai was struggling to not lose her composure but it was so obvious to me. Looks like I'll have to save her once again.

I walked to Yuki-senpai and grabbed her arm. "I won. Date time." I said as I dragged her out of the gym.

"Wait! You said sometime, right?" she argued. "This is…"

"Nope." I said, cutting her off. "I want to go now."

Half an hour later, we ended up at the arcade. I really hate loud, crowded places but it seemed like a good place to get her to forget about what would've been a disaster if she had stayed at the gym.

"You. If you wanted to come here, get your usual friends to come." she said irritably when we were inside.

"Senpai, you just suck at games, I bet." I teased. I watched her face flushed with temper.

"Listen to what I'm saying." she said, annoyance darkening her voice.

When will she realize I am always listening to her? And why was she so cute when she was mad?

"Anyway," she continued "you dragged me out here so I didn't clean up, I didn't write in the daily journal…"

"Whatever. Do it tomorrow." I replied as I led her to a zombie shooter game.

"No, I can't…" she started. I picked up a toy gun and dropped it into her hand.

"Here take it." I said as I fished out change for the game. She stared at the toy gun as if it was real.

"No way. I can't. I've never done this. Ever." She said as she stared at the gun and then the screen of the game like they were aliens.

"Seriously?" I asked as I started the game up for her.

"What's this? Stop. Wait." she said while trying to figure the game out. I watched as she lifted the gun over her head and started shooting towards the screen hitting absolutely nothing. She really had no idea what she was doing and it had to be the cutest thing I'd ever seen.

After that, it wasn't so hard to convince her to participate a little, which was a surprise. We played more games that she was hands down the worst I've ever seen to play them. I was right. She really did suck at games. It was funny to see senpai, who seemed to be good at everything be terrible at simple arcade games. It was super cute. The look that was on her face at the gym was long gone replaced with a serious look of concentration with every game she played.

Depsite how terrible she was, she somehow won a huge gorilla from a mega prize crane game. I carried it around for her since it was almost as big as her. At some point, I realized, it turned into a real date. And despite her serious face, I could tell she wasn't thinking about Kido anymore. I knew we had to leave soon, but I was enjoying hanging out with senpai, even if it was at the arcade. Maybe I didn't like to come here because of the people I was with.

We made our way to a pitching game. She had five tries and she missed the first four. It was still so funny to see senpai fail miserably at such a simple game.

"Shouldn't it be lower?" I asked. Her face was so focused and concentrated that I wanted to laugh but I knew better.

"Shut up. This is hard." she said, her voice stiff with concentration.

"Senpai, that's the last ball. You didn't even touch a single one." I teased.

"Shut up and let me concentrate." she said tersely.

I watched silently as she looked intently at the scoreboard, aimed and threw the ball with all she could. She hit the most difficult section dead center.

"Naruse!" she cried out in victory. She grabbed the sleeve of my jacket without thinking. "Did you see?" she asked. She looked at me and then at her hand that was clutching my sleeve as if she didn't know how her hand got there. She pulled her hand back, another blush coloring her cheeks. This time her blush was because of me. I felt my heart squeeze in my chest. Should making her blush make me so happy? I smiled down at her. She really was the cutest.

It was almost time to leave. I left her with her prizes at a bench and went to get her a drink. I was happy. Senpai was here with me and whether she liked it or not she was having fun. I was too. I got back and handed her a fruit juice then I cracked open mine.

"Thank you…" she said softly, not looking at me. I studied her as she quietly sipped her juice. She seemed smaller, more delicate sitting next to the huge stuffed gorilla. Maybe it was because she wasn't shouting orders. When she wasn't yelling at me she was a completely different person. I smiled to myself.

"You feeling better yet?" I asked. She looked at me as if she had no idea what I was talking about. Good.

"Huh?" she asked.

"Back at the gym you were looking really bad, you know." I said, watching her carefully. Her face froze with embarrassment. I was about to say something else when Ichii showed up with a couple of friends.

"Isn't that Naruse? What are you doing here? Don't you hate loud and annoying places?" she rapid fire questions at me. She really did have the worst timing.

"Oh, is that so?" Yuki-senpai asked, looking at me in surprise.

"It's just for today. It's special." I said. I tried to mentally will Ichii and her crew to go away.

"No way! Is this a date?" she asked covering her mouth dramatically. It was like she she knew I wanted her gone. I wasn't going to let her ruin the evening for senpai and I.

"You really are annoying." I said as I picked up our stuff. "Let's go, senpai." I grabbed senpai's hand and lead her out of the arcade. It was fine. We were about to leave anyway.

"Wait!" Yuki-senpai called out as I dragged her away. "Why did you bring me to this kind of place?"

"Dunno, just felt like it" I said.

"But...you don't like it?"

"Yup. Just thought you'd have fun there. That's all." I replied simply.

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out to check it. It was a text from Ichii saying she was going to interrogate me about my date at school tomorrow and another text from her friend saying pretty much the same thing. "Geez, these guys are persistent." I mumbled to myself.

I looked at senpai and noticed she was staring at the purikura on my phone. "Oh this? They stuck it on and I can't get it off. They must've used glue or something" I said trying to sound nonchalant. I could tell it bothered her to see it but I couldn't tell why. Was she finally seeing me the way I wanted her to? Was she jealous? I almost laughed aloud at the thought.

"That's that girl? The one you're always hanging out with?" she asked.

Well, she's always hanging out with me. "Yea, same junior high." I said instead.

Senpai said nothing.

"Shall I walk you home?" I asked. I wasn't quite ready to part ways with her.

"No. You can go ahead. I have to go back to the school and finish up my manager duties before I go home." she said in her no nonsense voice. Manager Machida was back.

"You can do that tomorrow, can't you?" I asked. This girl was a machine.

"It's my duty." she said as if that was answer enough. "You don't have to come with me, of course. In fact you should go home and get some rest for tomorrow."

I wasn't going to let her walk back to school by herself at this time in the evening. Plus, I'd get to hang out with her some more if I go with her. I ended up following her back to the gym, her stuffed gorilla on my back. I watched as she scurried around as soon as we arrived taking inventory of what was left undone that afternoon.

"Senpai. It's cold. I wanna go home. This gorilla is heavy."

"Yeah, yeah. Stop complaining. I told you you didn't have to come." she said as she noticed the one basketball that wasn't put away. She mumbled about the daily journal being left out.

"Write in it tomorrow." I told her.

"If I don't write it today, it's not a daily journal, is it?" she returned.

"What a pain." I muttered.

I watched her silently in the dark gym as she tried to remember the date for the journal. I still wasn't sure why I liked her so much but I did. Being with her tonight only made me like her more and made me impatient. I wanted her to be mine. Now.

"Senpai, go out with me." I said. The stillness in the gym caught my voice making it louder than it should have been. Me saying that was probably out of nowhere to her but I'd been thinking about it all day and all of last night. I moved behind her to hug her making her drop the journal. Her small body fit perfectly in my arms.

"Hey, let go." she said.

"I like you." I said instead of releasing her. I hugged her harder. "I really like you."

"Ok! I understand!" she shouted angrily.

"No, you don't."

"Yes. I do."

"Don't lie. You clearly don't." I returned. She didn't understand at all. She really had no idea how I felt about her despite how obvious I thought I was being.

"You have no right to call it a prank. You don't know what I feel when I touch you or how my heart reacts when I'm with you. You don't know anything so it isn't for you to say." Even now, with her in my arms, my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest. Could she feel it? Maybe she could hear it in the silence of the gym.

"Naru...Naruse." She she said softly in the darkness. Suddenly she flung around. I released her in surprise. "I'll think about it so calm down for once!" she shouted. Her voice echoed from the rafters and bounced off the walls of the gym. It sounded like there were ten of her.

I stared at her at in shock. She went from subdued to infuriated within seconds. "Senpai, your face." I said. Even in the semi-darkness I could tell her face was lit with the same passionate fury she had during the game.

"What?" she asked, her voice laced with annoyance and temper.

"No...nothing." I stuttered. She nodded her head as if she made a point. She bent down and picked up the daily journal and returned it to the storeroom.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked when she returned. All I could do was nod my head. I was afraid if I said anything she would immediately tell me she'd thought about it and decided it wasn't a good idea.

I followed her out of the gym to the bus stop, still carrying her gorilla. We waited silently until the bus pulled up. I handed her prizes over. She took them without a word and started towards the bus then she stopped and looked at me.

"Thank you...for today." she said softly, almost reluctantly. Then she turned back around and ran up the steps to the bus.

The doors closed and I watched as she struggled to sit with her huge gorilla on the crowded bus through the windows. I stood still as it pulled off and turned a corner. I stood there for a moment longer staring at the corner before I started walking towards my house. I walked about three blocks before I started to giggle. Then my giggles turned to full blown laughter.

All she said was she'd think about it but I felt so light and so happy. Her saying what she said and being with me tonight melted away all the heavy thoughts I carried around with me all day. I was so full of joy that I felt like running home but I decided not to. Though my ankle was better it was still a bit sore, especially after all the extra activities I participated in today.

I didn't regret any of it though. Because of today, I made progress with senpai. I thought of senpai's face in the gym as I turned a corner towards my house and I laughed again. I thought about how I felt this morning compared to how I felt now. Was this what being in love was like? I never really understood it. It was a crazy feeling, going from being so down to feeling so high because of another person.

I was so excited but she only said she'd think about it. I tried to calm myself down but I couldn't. I still had a long way to go, it was Yuki-senpai after all, but I was closer. She was already mine, it was just a matter of time before she realized it. I smiled as I walked up to my front door. For the first time ever, I couldn't wait to go to school tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

Even though I felt fine, my mom wouldn't let up on it so I spent the weekend staying off my ankle. By Saturday afternoon I'd already finished all the chores, my homework and played all the video games I wanted to play. With nothing left to do I had plenty of time to sit around the house and think about senpai. For her to tell me she'd seriously think about going out with me instead of just a flat out rejection gave me more hope than it should have.

Our date went surprisingly well, I thought. Better than I could have expected. I expected her to refuse to participate at all. The fact that not only did she play the games and enjoy them but she also forgot about Kido and his girlfriend. That made me happy. I finally did something right. I thought about the fact that I made this much progress since her reaction to my kiss. I felt elated yet somehow still wary because despite the progress I made this was still senpai I was dealing with.

I felt like I was finally getting her attention. The fact that I was even glad for the attention of a girl was amazing to me. Never have I cared about whether someone noticed me or not. More times than not, I was already getting far too much attention from far too many annoying people as it was.

My thoughts returned to the fact that senpai was thinking about us. Might even be doing it right now. I thought about it some more. Probably not. Knowing her she was probably just as busy as she is when doing club activities if not busier.

I wondered what her household was like. Did she have siblings? Is she an only child? Are her parents as serious as she is? I realized I really didn't know anything about her. I was imagining a whole family with the same stoic expression Yuki-senpai always wore when my thoughts finally landed in the place I was trying to avoid.

What if she says no?

I had never been faced with the chance of any type of rejection before since I never really went for anything before. How would I react? Would I quit the team or stick around and try to change her mind? I really wouldn't know until it happened but I was pretty sure I'd stick around. I never met anyone like senpai before and I probably never will again. Plus, I never wanted to pursue a girl before. That in itself deserved more effort on my part.

That Monday, even after another sleep deprived night, I still showed up to school with more energy than normal. I was exhausted but I felt like I could practice for two hours straight easily. Nervous energy, my dad calls it. It made me feel like I drank a whole pot of coffee in one go.

As soon as I entered the building I scanned the hallway looking for senpai. It had became a habit every time I moved between classes to look for her brownish red hair in the crowd. I was pretty sure at this point I could spot her in a crowd of thousands from a mile away.

Even though it was rare to catch her in the morning in the main hall, I was still hoping to corner her to get an answer as soon as possible so I wouldn't have to go through another whole day wondering and feeling all jittery. Of course she wasn't around. Before I could begin to feel disappointed, Ichii appeared in front of me out of nowhere as usual. I felt exasperation instead.

"So how was your daaate?" she asked smugly. Her friend materialized out of nowhere beside her with a smirk on her face. "I didn't know you liked older girls, Naruse-kun." she said in the same tone as Ichii. I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"I got your texts. I thought my response was mind your fucking business." I replied, not breaking my stride.

"Don't be like that, Naruse. We just never see you at the arcade anymore. You told us you hated it. We were just curious." Ichii said with a pout. I ignored her and walked past her into my class. "Fine. Keep your secrets!" she called out. I could almost hear her crossing her eyes and sticking her tongue out at me.

"I will." I called back without turning around. I could tell without looking they left because it got quiet.

I sat down in my chair harder than I meant to behind a sleeping Abe. He didn't even stir but mumbled something about Christmas being lonely. I ignored him and wondered what Senpai was doing. Did she think about me as much as I thought about her over the weekend? Did she think about us at all? What will she say? My stomach felt like it was being twisted and rung out like a rag. Feeling like this was annoying and nerve wracking. I couldn't concentrate on anything throughout the day. It was all I could think about. And of course, when I usually catch senpai in the halls at least once during the day, today she was nowhere to be seen.

Before I knew it, classes were over and it was time for me to go to practice. I had all day to think of all the different kind of responses she was going to give me. By the time it was time for practice I was almost positive she was going to reject me in front of everybody then make me do laps.

When I walked into the gym the new coach, Tono something, was convincing Yuki-senpai to authorize a Christmas party for the team. I felt relief that she was here. At one point I thought she might have skipped school to avoid giving me an answer. I should've known better.

How bold of him to request a party so soon since joining the team. Then I noticed some of the team members cowering in the doorway watching the exchange between senpai and Tono. They must have convinced him to ask for them. Cowards.

"This isn't from me but the first years. They told me you'd probably get angry so I'm asking for them." the captain said pointing at them. The first years crowded in the door looking hopeful and fearful. Of course I was right.

"Just look at those puppy dog eyes." Tono-something said. Yuki-senpai looked at them and sighed. I wondered if she even liked dogs.

"Okay, I'll find a cheap place to have it." she conceded.

The guys cheered and I watched her as she sighed again and turned towards the club room. Hmm, maybe she does like dogs. I followed her into the club room and waited for the door to shut behind us before walking behind her and bending low to her ear.

"Yuki-senpai, have you thought of _that_ yet?" I asked. She shot away from me and across the room so fast she smacked into the wall with a loud bang.

"Can't you talk normally for once!?" she shouted at me. Her chest was heaving and her face was flushed like she just ran a marathon. I must of scared the life out of her. I thought she heard me walk in with her though. How rare for her to be so unobservant.

"Uh, this is how I normally am." I answered. I studied her a little closer. She started to breathe more normally but her cheeks were still flushed. She looked stricken. She wouldn't meet my eyes and instead walked out of the club room without another word. I watched her just as silently.

I stared at the door as it shut behind her thoughtfully. That was an weird exchange. It made me wonder if she would've reacted like that if anyone snuck up on her or was that reaction because it was me? If it was because of me then it was only a matter of time. If my presence could cause such a reaction in the always serious Yuki-Senpai then I already won. Or I could have just scared a couple years off her life, nothing more.

With her, there was no way of knowing. What I did know was she didn't give me an answer. I tried to corner her for the rest of practice but I realized if Yuki-senpai didn't want to be cornered she wasn't going to be. I finally gave up and finished practice and instead of cornering her in the clubroom where I knew she'd be, I went home with everyone else.

While I really wanted an answer I didn't want to pressure her too much. It was obvious that she was at the very least thinking about it if her reaction to me earlier was anything to go by. I'll get her tomorrow, I told myself while trying not to think about having to go through another night of restlessness over what her answer will be. Definitely tomorrow.

The next day, as I somewhat expected, I didn't catch senpai in the halls between classes all morning. I saw her for the first time that day during lunch from about ten yards away by accident. Kido was talking with her in the courtyard. I scowled as he patted her head while his girlfriend Rina smiled benignly beside him. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with him? Why does it seem like he can't stay away from her? Does he secretly like her despite already having a girlfriend? Is that why he can't keep his hands to himself around her?

After not seeing her all day, that being the first thing I see when I finally spot her irritated me more than I thought possible. I needed an answer and soon. The sooner I get her to be mine the sooner I could tell Kido to piss off.

After a particularly grueling practice, senpai gathered us all together to give us the details of the Christmas dinner. She handed out a binder for us to pass around containing a detailed list of our restaurant options, restaurant style, their menu, location, star rating, directions and nearest metro station. She gave us a sheet of stickers and tołd us to place a one by the restaurant we want. Fair and efficient. Nothing less from Manager Machida.

I didn't need to see it because I didn't care about where the party was to be held. Instead I headed to the clubroom while everyone oohed and aahed over the info packet senpai managed to whip out within twelve hours. I knew she would be there eventually so I made myself comfortable, closed my eyes and waited. Sure enough a few minutes later I heard the door open and close. How weird is it that I knew it was her by the sound of the door opening?

I heard her pause in her steps as she noticed me. I listened to her footsteps approach lightly and the light change slightly as she bent over me. I opened my eyes and looked right into hers.

"You talked to the captain today." I said in place of a greeting. Once again she reacted as though she was hit with a stun gun and shot away from me, smacking into the wall again. I hid my smile. She was reacting this way because of me.

"Can't you speak normally?" she yelled, her normal angry face firmly in place.

"You're okay when the captain touches your head, so why do you lose it when I'm around?" I asked teasingly. I watched her breathing slowly return to normal. She wasn't going to answer any of my questions including the one I had been waiting all day today, yesterday and the past weekend to hear, I could already tell.

"What?" she shot back. She glared at me for a moment. I could tell she was more angry at me catching her off guard than at me. I watched as she gathered herself together. "Sorry, I'm busy, so you should go home now."

As expected, I thought. No answers were coming today. Instead of feeling disappointed, I changed the subject. Senpai was skittish. I'll just have to treat her like a scared kitten if I really wanted to get closer to her. The first step in calming a skittish kitten was to calmly and patiently let her grow use to your presence.

"Whats all that? Shikishi?" I asked pointing to the papers she had scattered on a table.

"Yea. Im giving them to the third years at the Christmas party." she answered looking down at the table.

I looked at the amount of paper and pictures she had. "And you're pasting pictures? How many?"

"27." she answered.

She only had three done already. It was going to take her hours to finish them all up tonight. I sighed. Why does she never ask for help? I reached down and picked up a sheaf of papers. "That's a freakin pain." I said in reference to her inability to share tasks. Once again, as expected, her face flushed with indignation.

"Hey! Don't mess with those! If you've got nothing to do, then go home already!" she shouted at me. Once again trying to get rid of me. Instead I sat down beside her and started assembling a card.

She remained silent while I finished up the card. "What are you doing?" she finally asked me.

"It's faster with two people doing it." I answered simply. "Pass the glue please."

"Its...it's fine. I can do it myself." she said hesitatingly.

"You're an idiot." I said instead of asking what was up with her aversion to help. That's just the way senpai is. No need to ask.

She turned her head to me angrily, a retort ready but I cut her off. "Senpai, when you don't depend on anyone like that, it always makes me think that you're kinda stupid." I said. "But I really like it." I said before she could say anything in response.

For once, Yuki-senpai had nothing to say. Instead her face turned a lovely shade of pink. She was so cute I almost sighed. I took the opportunity of her silence to finally address what kept me up for two nights in a row.

"Yuki-senpai. If your answer is no, then just say no. If you don't, I'll keep liking you more and more." I watched as she blushed a deeper shade of red. . The second time I managed to make her blush because of something other than anger.

"Ah...I…" she started. Suddenly, an inexplicable wave of fear swept over me. I didn't want to hear her answer. It was going to be no. She was about to reject me a second time. I was sure of it. I realized I wasn't ready to hear that. Before she could finish her statement I heard my name called out like a siren outside. Only one person in the world capable of yelling my name out in that frequency. For once, I was grateful for Ichii's ability to show up at the worst possible time.

I got up swiftly and walked to the window. How did she even know I was in here, I wondered. I opened the window and sure enough Ichii and her crew were down below.

"Hey, you really can't hang out on the 24th?" she called up to me.

I sighed as usual while silently thanking her. But I already told her I couldn't hang. Senpai, spent a good amount of time planning the club Christmas party. I couldn't possibly miss an opportunity to be near senpai outside of practice even if it was still with the other club members. Even if it'll be after she rejects me, a dark voice said in my head. I ignored it.

"I can't. Stop bugging me." I answered.

"Ugh, seriously? It's just a club thing, so skip it. They're all guys anyway." she shouted back petulantly.

"I'm not going. Stop asking me" I called back. I closed the window as she protested furthur. When I turned around, Yuki-senpai was already packing up the shikishi supplies.

"What are you doing?"

"I decided it will probably be best for me to finish these at home. I have to make dinner tonight anyway." she said brusquely zipping up her bag a bit aggressively. Was she mad? Because Ichii showed up? Could she be jealous? Hah, is hell freezing over?

I could tell we were not going to recapture the moment we were having before Ichii interrupted us so it was probably pointless for me to press the issue. Instead I watched her gather the rest of her things and head for the door. She grabbed the handle to open it but hesitated.

"If you have other things to do on the 24th, the team will understand. It is not required for you to be there." she said without turning around.

Trying to get rid of me. Again. This attitude might dissuade someone else but not me.

"Don't worry. I'll be there."

She turned around then, her cheeks flushed. Wow, three times in ten minutes. I'm on a roll today. "I'm not worried. I was just…nevermind." she stammered before rushing out.

I studied the door in silence for a moment before leaving out behind her. She was already long gone. She's always so quick. I debated on catching up with her and walking her to her bus stop but I was pretty sure she was pretty done with me at the moment. No worries. I'll catch her in a few days at the Christmas party.

When the Christmas party finally arrived a few days later I was once again nearly desperate for an answer. I made sure to sit next to her before Kido or anyone else did not that it mattered. Kido and, after finally remembering her name, Rina sat right across from us at the table.

I couldn't tell if senpai was happy or sad about it. What I could tell was the sitting arrangement seem to throw her off a bit. She barely looked at anyone and barely spoke a word. I watched as she grilled a slice of cucumber rather than a slice of meat for the second time. The ever present, ever focused manager was spacing out and knowing the reason for it pissed me off.

"Yuki-senpai, you grill the cucumbers before you eat them. Gross." I teased to snap her out of whatever daze she was in and bring her attention back to me.

"What are you doing spacing out? It's not like you." Kido said jokingly. He picked up the grilled cucumber with his chopsticks. "Pass it over. I'll eat it."

"You really shouldn't…" Yuki-senpai said hesitatingly.

"Kido-kun has a weird taste for food, so it should be ok." his girlfriend said. Her voice as tinkly as ever.

I watched senpai flush with embarrassment. I looked from her to Kido, who was completely unaware of the affect he was having on her, then back to her. Who was I kidding? Senpai was never going to look my way. Especially with Kido still lurking around. Even with his girlfriend right beside him I appeared to be no match. Maybe I'll quit this season and come back to the team next season after Kido graduates. Maybe then I'll have a chance.

All of a sudden the noise level rose up to nearly deafening levels as they started the King game. I remembered why I never liked to go to group parties. Eventually it just turns into another loud crowded place. One of the guys whose name I always forget was the first king. I wondered if the first dare would be the usual first one demanded back in middle school. He dared the the first victim to kiss. I rolled my eyes. I was right.

I shook my head and glanced at senpai. "So this is how basketball team plays the King Game?" I asked her, bringing her attention back to me again.

"Who knows?" she answered without looking at me, once again lost in thought.

"Okay, the next one is number 9! Tell us who you like." whats his name called out. Everybody looked at their numbers. I felt Yuki-senpai stiffen next to me.

"Who's number 9?" someone called out.

"It's me." senpai said reluctantly. I was surprised she was even participating. She stared at her number as though she could change it if she concentrated hard enough.

"No way." Kido's girlfriend said with a giggle. Kido leaned towards senpai, his face lined with concern.

"Eh? Machida? You?" he asked. Why did he care so much that it was senpai? Did he know she liked him? Is that why he hovered around her so much? I watched as Kido leaned further over the table. "Do you have someone you like? If you do, then you don't have to answer." he said to her quietly which was comical because everyone at the table could hear him. I looked at senpai's face. From the roots of her hair to her collarbone she flushed the deepest red. A quiet hush fell over the table. I'm sure no one at the table had seen her blush before besides me. The fact that everyone was seeing a face that only I saw irritated me tremendously.

"N-no..." Yuki-senpai stammered. It was the worse acting I had ever seen. It was obvious she was just thinking of the person she had a crush on. Of course, she wasn't going to admit it when he was sitting right in front of her.

That was my answer right there. Yuki-senpai will never feel for me the way she feels for Kido. Her answer was going to be no as soon as she has the opportunity to tell me. I was kind of expecting that answer anyway, if we were being honest. It was still hard to accept though.

As the table erupted in shouts of disbelief and surprise my phone started to vibrate. Perfect timing. The perfect excuse to get out of here. I picked up my phone. It was a text from my mom asking if I was coming home for dinner or not. I gathered my bag and jacket and got up. "Bathroom." I announced to whoever cared.

"You're ditching us, aren't you, you player." someone shouted after me. I closed the door behind me without answering and put my jacket and scarf on before stepping outside. The cool wind blew across my face. I thought about calling a taxi but decided to walk. It'll only take twenty or so minutes.

Was I running away? Maybe. I didn't really feel like watching Yuki-senpai blush over Kido any more than I had to. Sometimes you just have to realize when to call it quits. Maybe not forever but for now, at least.

So this is what an unrequited love feels like, huh? It sucks.

I looked at my phone and pulled up my moms text to reply that I was on my way and started walking when something soft hit my head. I looked down. A small, wrapped package laid at my feet. I picked it up and looked around. Yuki-senpai was standing a few feet away looking mad, which wasn't surprising, and winded, which was surprising. Did she chase after me? I felt a swell of hope in my chest and ignored it.

"What's this? A Christmas present?" I asked her.

"N-no.." she stammered out. "The other day you helped me with the shikishi. It's a thank you gift."

I looked down at the gift and back at her and blew out an exasperated breath. Every time I even think about giving up she does something that makes me want to keep trying. I sighed. It's not like I have anything better to do.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked. Did she realize how utterly confusing she was?

"Like I said, the other day…" she started.

"Don't you like Kido-senpai?" I cut her off.

She stared at me as though she had no idea what I was talking about. I managed not to roll my eyes at her. Was she being dense on purpose or was she this way naturally?

"How long should I wait?" I asked her. I couldn't keep the frustration that had been building up in me over the week out of my voice. "Yuki-senpai, I know you don't think of me in that way. If you still like that guy, you should just say so." I told her. She stood there with the same clueless look on her face. It was cold and I was kind of tired. I turned around and started walking away. I made it a couple of steps before I felt a tug on the back of my jacket.

"What you just said is totally wrong, so...d-don't go." she said in a soft voice.

That swell of hope turned into full fledge hope bordering victory. I couldn't help but smile. I turned around and took her into my arms. Just like last time, she fit perfectly. As she struggled in my embrace I decided to tease her.

"I wasn't going anywhere though." I whispered in her ear. I brushed my lips across the soft strands of her hair.

"But, that text…?" she asked then trailed off.

"Oh that was my mom asking if I wanted dinner." I told her. I really was about to head home but let her think I wasn't. I pulled back to see the expression I was expecting on her face. Sure enough, the cute annoyance was there. Why was she so cute? I wrapped my arms around her tighter. "Senpai, I want to kiss you. If you don't want to, then tell me." I told her. I knew she was probably going to say no but this was the first time she came after me. Not only that, but she asked me to stay.

"No." she said in a small voice.

I smiled. "Ah, sorry, I couldn't hear you." I said and kissed her deeply. At first she remained stiff in my arms then she slowly relaxed. And then softly, gently, she kissed me back. My heart stopped for a full five seconds. I pulled back then before I did something regretful. Her face was the deepest shade of red. She was blushing because of me again and it made me so happy I wanted to pick her up and spin her around. Kiss her again. Instead I took off my scarf and wrapped it around her neck before kissing her forehead.

Without a word we turned around and headed back for the party. I glanced back at her once more before we re-joined everybody. I was pretty sure someone was going to notice her wearing my scarf. I kind of wanted them to. Let them know she was mine without actually saying anything.

As we walked in we were besieged by questions.

"Why are you together with Naruse?" Abe asked.

"We bumped into each other." I answered nonchalantly.

"But manager, your face, it's red. Did Naruse do…?"

"No, its because its cold." she cut in just as nonchalantly. Instead of going back to her seat she went to another section of the table to sit. There was no space for me to sit on the other side of her. Or so she thought. I knew what she was doing. She was trying to get away from me. Not happening. We made several steps just a moment ago. I wasn't about to let her pretend nothing happened.

"Machida, isn't that Naruse's scarf?" someone finally asked. I looked at her to see her reaction. She yanked the scarf off and stuffed it beneath her legs as though that wasn't suspicious in the least.

"Nope." she answered nonplussed.

As luck would have it, the person next to her got up allowing me to sit right next to her again.

"Man, It's freezing." I said rather loudly, plopping down beside her. She glared at me but didn't tell me to go away. I covertly took her hand in mine without anyone noticing. She didn't resist. Her hand was soft and small and cold as ice. I felt my heart thump in my chest. "Your hand's really cold." I said softly so only she heard me.

"Did you say something?" Abe asked me.

I squeezed her hand gently. She squeezed my hand back, just as gently.

Happiness flowed through my body.

"Nope." I answered back. I glanced at senpai again. I couldn't help it. Her head was turned away from me but her neck was red. "Didn't say anything at all."


End file.
